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England manager Gareth Southgate could face significant disruption to his bid to win the inaugural Uefa Nations League if a Premier League club makes it to the final of the Champions League.

England qualified for the four-team finals, which take place in Portugal on June 5 to June 9, by beating Croatia to finish top of their group.

The semi-finals, on June 5, kick-off just four days after the Champions League final, which could give England manager Southgate a headache over the fitness and preparation of some of his stars.

Manchester City had four players – John Stones, Kyle Walker, Fabian Delph and Raheem Sterling – in England’s squad for the Croatia game, while Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are also well represented.

Southgate and the Football Association are unlikely to start seriously planning for the finals until after the draw has been made on Monday December 3.

A number of England's players are in Champions League action this seasonCredit:
PA

It is after that when decisions will be made on where England stay, with the finals expected to take place in Porto and Guimaraes, and how long Southgate will want his available players beforehand. There will not be any warm-up friendlies scheduled around the event.

But Southgate could face a dilemma over whether or not to ask a Champions League finalist to play three big games, one for his club and two for England, in the space of nine days at the end of a busy season.

The scheduling of the Nations League finals will further anger club managers, particularly given the fact that Uefa are in charge of both that and the Champions League.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has already made it clear that he is not a fan of the Nations League by describing it as “the most senseless competition in the world.”

Klopp, who had Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold in England’s last squad, said: “The players go off and play the Nations League, which is the most senseless competition in the world.

“We have to start thinking about the players. You have to call the manager of any country and say can you leave players out and he says I am under pressure as well.”

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has also described the fixture list as “dangerous” for players who represent their countries – such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier, who pulled out of the last squad through injury.

Pochettino said: “It’s dangerous. I’ve told you before that it’s so difficult (for the players). Football is a massive business and it's not easy. The football business today does not care about the players—it's all about games, games, games.”

City are on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League, while United and Liverpool are well placed in their groups. Tottenham, though, must beat Inter Milan and Barcelona to stand any chance of progressing.